Presently, television programming, whether received over the air or via cable or Internet, includes audio information corresponding to the video content. Indeed, in most instances, the only audio information available comprises the audio broadcast with the video content. However, in certain circumstances, alternative audio sources exist. For example, consider a sporting event such as a baseball game broadcast by a television network to a nationwide audience. In addition to the television network broadcasting the game, one or more local radio stations will broadcast the same game but will employ different announcers. The content from the radio station will contain details of the game just as the audio content from the television broadcast. However the content broadcast from the radio station typically will differ based on the difference in style, mannerism and personality of the announcer(s). For example, a radio station whose announcers regularly cover baseball games played by their local team will certainly have a different perspective than an announcer for a television network that covers many different teams.
Sports fans that regularly follow their home team often prefer the audio content from their local radio station as compared to the audio content accompanying a network television broadcast. Thus, some sports fans will watch the television broadcast with the volume on their television set turned off and tune a radio to receive the audio from their local radio station broadcasting the game. Indeed, some manufacturers provide special devices for adjusting the delay between the television and radio station broadcasts.
This approach to receiving alternative audio incurs several serious flaws. Depending on the quality of the radio receiver used by the viewer, the quality of the audio can suffer. Moreover, if the viewer is out of range of reception of the local radio station broadcasting the game, the viewer will not have an alternative source of audio content.
Thus a need exists for enabling a television viewer to identify and receive alternative audio that overcomes the aforementioned disadvantages.